Man killed in park at 'wrong place at the wrong time'

July 26, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 12:28 p.m.

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Huntington Beach resident Robert Duran was a larger-than-life figure, his family members said. Duran was found shot to death in Bartlett Park on Tuesday. Police say a man on the run shot Duran, then himself. COURTESY OF ESPERANZA DURAN

Huntington Beach resident Robert Duran was a larger-than-life figure, his family members said. Duran was found shot to death in Bartlett Park on Tuesday. Police say a man on the run shot Duran, then himself. COURTESY OF ESPERANZA DURAN

"He always had a story and a smile on his face," his sister, Esperanza Duran, said.

Huntington Beach police said Robert Duran was the victim of a murder-suicide at Bartlett Park, an area of heavy trees and brush. His body was found Tuesday afternoon, along with 32-year-old Abraham Felmley, who had been on the run from Sacramento authorities and was charged with arson and murder.

Police say Felmley fatally shot Duran before taking his own life.

Duran, 49, was well-known and loved by many who grew up amid the punk-rock shows and parties of the beach city, his sister said. He is survived by his three sisters, two brothers and a longtime girlfriend. Planning is underway for a memorial service.

Duran had his brushes with the law – mostly misdemeanors related to drug and alcohol use – but his sister said he had no connection to his accused killer.

"He unfortunately was at the wrong place at the wrong time," she said.

On Tuesday, Duran was at Bartlett Park, known as Hidden Valley to many locals. As a child, he would catch lizards in the wooded, swampy land. In recent years, he continued to think of it as a retreat, his sister said, though the area has become known as a hangout for teenage drinking and homeless people.

"It's a lot different now," she said.

Felmley was on the run from police who suspected him of arson, the murder of two family members and a carjacking near Merced, court documents show. Investigators told Esperanza Duran that he drove to the secluded area intent on killing himself. She said her brother likely spotted the man and tried to intervene.

"That's just the kind of person he is," she said. "He tried to help people."

The family is still looking for answers, however, as to why Felmley cut short the life of the man that Esperanza Duran described as quite a character.

Robert Duran attended Dwyer Middle School and Huntington Beach High School, and lost his two front teeth when he was hit by a baseball bat as a teenager. He had been heading home from a punk-rock show in Santa Ana when he wound up in the wrong neighborhood facing gang members, his sister said.

The toothless smile became his signature, and photos from family and friends showcased it lovingly, as in a snapshot with his young niece, and mischievously, as when he flipped off the camera. That was Robert, his sister said.

His "colored" past, she added, was for the most part behind him. A court sentenced him to 16 months in state prison after he pleaded guilty to grand theft in 2006, records show. In recent years, he was living with his girlfriend, and the couple had been together for about 15 years, his sister said. He had also been looking to join a church, she added.

The spark that many people loved was still there. Family members said the best description of Duran came in his own words, in a Facebook post from earlier this year.

"I am HUNT.BCH, I'm as local as it gets, I go where I want, do what I want and the way I want to do it," he wrote. "That's HUNT.BCH STYLE NOW WHAT! I just might be the last person you want to meet 'cause of my unique set of twisted morals pertaining to disrespect! But if our views 'n personalities click then you'll probably love me 4-EVER AND A DAY!"

In spite of being sometimes rough around the edges, Esperanza Duran said her brother always made a point of telling those close to him that he loved them – an example she said she would try to follow.

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